Where's the money? - Pembrokeshire farmers
A strong message challenging milk buyers and representatives for milk price increases was issued last week by NFU Cymru members meeting in Pembrokeshire.
Pembrokeshire dairy farmer and the NFU’s Dairy Board Chairman, Mansel Raymond, addressed the meeting and updated local members about the Union’s work in investigating the dairy market which culminated with the recent launch of the NFU report ’The Great Milk Robbery’.
Mansel Raymond said, "This report asks serious questions about why dairy farmers are not yet seeing significant increases in their milk price given the positive market signals in dairy commodities such as milk, cheese and cream in the UK. The report reveals that the actual total revenue to processors from dairy commodities in May 2010 was £19 million higher than in May 2009. This is equivalent to an average increase of 4.3 pence per litre which is far from reflected in increased returns to dairy farmers. Revenue from cream was £34 million higher in 2009 compared to 2008 and so far in 2010 a further £36 million has been received from cream sales compared to the same period in 2009. Cheese prices have only recently started to rise but have increased by £13 million in the past three months and eight million of this was in May alone.
"No buyer has yet announced any milk price increase of a scale that stands up against our analysis of what farmers should legitimately expect when compared to the increases in revenue which has been highlighted by both NFU Cymru and the NFU."
Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru County Chairman, Mike McNamara said, "This investigation of the dairy market has revealed that millions of pounds of earned revenue is not being passed back to dairy farmers. This merely serves to highlight the lack of transparency which exists in the dairy supply chain and demonstrates the need for a fairer approach to milk contracts which allows producers to share in the spoils."
Mr McNamara concluded, "The big question that dairy farmers are asking is why they aren’t getting a fair share of this increased revenue? The pressure is really on milk buyers to increase prices in line with the market. Dairy farmers need to be demanding that their buyers and representatives deliver an immediate and substantial increase in farmgate milk prices that reflect the sustained strength of dairy commodities and the additional revenue earned by processors."
